I have accepted and surrendered. I've lived with these tormentors for 2 years. I now understand that there is no way out. People on here keep saying that it's okay and that things get better. Sure, they get better. But the bugs aren't gone. There are no know good effective pesticides available anywhere. I finally stopped kidding myself and realized that sleeping in a sansbug tent with no blanket or pillow is my reality. I can move, I can throw away all my posessions and they'll still come with me somehow. Thank you Universe for teaching me a lesson. I don't know why or how I chose this but I accept it with open arms.
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TerminatorT2 on "Accepting your fate"
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dinnerfor3 on "Really disgusting question"
Does the female menstrual cycle attract bed bugs? Could I wake up with some inside my undies? Are they heat seekers or do they smell blood?
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Dave3624 on "My field trial of Beauveria bassiana fungus use"
This is a new thread to document my use of the B bassiana fungus to treat my extremely pyrethoid resistant infestation. The other thread has gotten too clogged up with arguments.
I have done my due diligence on the B bassiana fungus safety profile and am personally completely satisfied with it. In fact its a hell of a lot safer than all the insecticides that my house and furniture have been saturated with.
In fact I researched the hell out of it for about a month prior to my initial post. I had so much insecticides in this house I was starting to get nosebleeds - and it barely made a dent in the BB population. And yes, a PCO has been and gone twice without resolution.
Please restrain your comments to factual data and comment.
The B bassiana treatment has begun and hysterical warnings I'm going to die, mutate and/or melt will be ignored.
At any rate today (Jan 1st) was day 1. The delay was due to holiday travel.
I used Botaniguard WP – the WP means wetable powder. According to the directions one pound will make 50 gallons of treatment liquid as proscribed for “other pests” however the spores will not survive in the water beyond 1 day so the liquid can’t be stored.
After crunching the numbers a 1/4 cup of powder makes 2 gallons. It makes a brown solution that looks identical to when you dissolve a packet of yeast in a cup of water. The solution is odorless.
Using a hand pump sprayer I sprayed the bed frame, slats, bed skirts, mattress edges, and along all baseboards and bedroom furniture. All surfaces were covered fairly thickly and cracks and gaps were saturated. There is a light tan film left on white painted furniture which wipes off easily.
In addition I sprayed inside the couch and in all the gaps between cushions and inside the back gap. It’s a leather couch so access to the insides is difficult.
No adverse reactions beyond my wife starting to sing Pet Shop Boys tunes a capella.
According to the research the bed bugs die 5 days after application, I’ll let you know in a week how its going.
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Donno on "Can someone have a look at this PLEASE? [expert ID needed]"
Found is in my hotel near to the carpet under the bed. Bed, sheets and matress are clean. I think its spider dirt, but would be very happy if someone could give his opinion about the pictures.
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BedBugPhoto on "ID photos please; are these bed bugs?"
Hello,
I live in an apartment that had bed bug issues many years ago. And two years ago, there was a false positive of book lice and carpet beetles (thanks to the experts in this forum).
So, when I recently felt like I’ve been getting some bite marks, I decided to check a trap (BEAP Bed Bug Detecting Surge Protector) that I had set up beside my bed during that past false positive period (which had caught nothing back then).
But this time, the trap had caught around 5 very small bugs measuring around 1mm in size. They could have been caught during anytime in the past year or more since I can’t recall the last time I checked the trap. Anyway, 1 of the 5 looks closest to a bed bug but I posted all the photos regardless. I hope it’s also a book lice but any expert advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
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idkbutfreakingout on "Bite question"
I know BB are opportunistic, so...
My daughter wore a tank top and leggings (tight to skin) to bed, and woke up with new bites. All bites were under her clothes though.
Would it be odd for that to happen but have no bites on her exposed skin?
(BB not confirmed here yet.)
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gabybbhater on "Blood Stain ID needed [expert]"
I really need an expert's help identifying this blood stain! :S
Hello BedBuggers, this is my first post and hopefully my last because I am really freaking out.
I woke up this morning and I found a blood stain on my sheets...
So far it's the only one I've found but I've never seen any other like it before.
Please help! Could this be a Bed Bug stain???
Thanks so much
http://imgur.com/a/4grYr
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moenine9 on "Bed bug feeding length"
what do you think the longest time a bedbug would probably go between feedings given a food source is available?
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Nobedbugsplease on "What do you think?"
I been Thinking about making a co2 bedbug trap because i have been unable to find any signs of bedbugs only bites for the pass 9 months i was wondering is this a good idea???
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droro on "Ridding BB from children's toys HELP"
Its been a few months since my 6 year old and i have discovered bed bugs and had treatment from Terminex. So far, after two treatments the house seems to be clear of bed bugs but i still havent cleaned my sons toys. I've been trying to find as much information about it that i can but most sites only reference how to take care of stuffed animals. My son has an enormous amount of action figures, legos, cars, and electronic devices. I have read that you can "boil" toys but there is a chance that it could melt off parts of the toys so i was wondering what the best way to do it is. I've also read that there are some type of strips you can put into a sealed garbage bag that can kill them, but i'm not sure what the most effective procedure would be. Should i put all the toys (non electronic obv.) in a tote and soak them in boiling hot water? And if so, should i also add bleach (i keep reading alcohol makes a difference as well as Dawn dish soap)? I also was unable to find a time limit for how long to soak items in the hot water.
Also, what is the best way to get rid of bed bugs that may or may not have infected my sons electronic toys and puzzles and backpacks that wouldn't survive a drier?
Also, I didn't realize until now that i have probably brought the bed bug problem into my garage by leaving the bags of toys in there instead of treating them as soon as possible. I have seen the skin of a BB on the outside of one of the garbage bags. My garage is filled with all sorts of things such as bikes, toys, outdoor equipment, and many other things. Whats the chance of having the infestation stay in there and when i move (in two months) the likelihood of them infesting the boxes of all my household goods once again?
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pumpkinpie84 on "Duffle bag and airport travel"
All,
I will be traveling to my grandma's house. I will only bring a duffle bag, and inside it I will have enclosed my belongings in big ziplocks. (She does NOT have bedbugs).
I do not want to bring budbugs from the airport to my grandma's house. I have 3 questions:
1) Do you recommend I dry the duffle bag as soon as I get to my grandma's to kill any bedbugs?
2) Do I need to sanitize the outside of my big ziplock bags, such as with 90% alcohol, in case any bed bugs got inside the duffle and onto the ziplocks?
3) What other measures should I take to prevent bringing bedbugs to her house?
Thanks!
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GrossBeasts on "The Prep before treatment feels impossible"
Can anyone help with the bed bug prep?
I am losing my mind. It's maddening. The washing, drying, bagging, emptying out every drawer and closet. Vacuuming everything. How the hell do you get it all done and live a normal life? They are supposed to be here between 10 and 2 tomorrow and I don't think we will be ready. I have been working on this since Friday almost non stop.
Do I need to bag the tv? The lamps? What about house plants? Do I have to do anything in the kitchen?
I had a few serious meltdowns today. This is so much stress! I wish they would just bring DDT back and eradicate them again. I have to medicate myself to sleep. We have only been dealing with this for 2 weeks and I am going insane I can't imagine how people deal with this on a long term basis.
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jasontran89 on "Are these bed bug bites? Pls help..."
Hi,
I just got these 2 red dots on my chest like an hour ago (picture below).
Normally I would consider them acnes and would not be bothered at all (my skin is quite sensitive so acnes pop up sometimes). However, I just had bed bugs a month ago and just moved to a new place 2 days ago; so I am very paranoid that I may bring some of them along... And the 2 red dots fit the straight line pattern... Pls let me know if you think they are bed bug bites.
Thank you!
Jason
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thefamilye on "life span"
do BB have a life span or can they live forever?
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reduviid on "Question about efficacy of bagging during treatment"
Hi Everyone,
Firstly to say thanks to all the contributors to this site for such a great resource. It has really helped separate the myth from reality.
My partner and I have been having a local council PCO (- not sure if this is the right terminology in this context but will use it for convenience!) treating our London flat for the past year. While they have been helpful, we still puzzled by a few things we have been told, leaving us feeling confused about the right thing to do. As this problem has be dragging on now, our faith in our PCO is wavering a little, and we thought we'd seek a second opinion here.
To give some background first. We live in a council serviced flat in London, and so when bed bugs were discovered here (about a year ago) we could get free treatment (i.e. a series of insecticide sprays spaced out by two week intervals) from the council. The PCOs instructions were carefully followed, washing and bagging all clothing/bedding in the room, and this first treatment (on just the bedroom) seemed to be successful. Recently however, after some suspicious bites, we found concrete evidence that bugs were still here in the form of two adults. This time we found them in the living room. With this evidence we were able to get the council to treat a second time, this time treating both bedroom and living room. This treatment has so far consisted of two, two-week separated sprays.
They are using an insecticide spray (described as 'Alpha SCT HSE 9992' on the information sheet) which they tell us kills any bugs it comes into contact with, and remains dangerous where it has been sprayed for up to 10 days. On the PCOs instructions we have completely bagged up clothes and bedding again, and are gradually cleaning everything that we can on a hot wash. In theory, we understand this should mean that all bugs and eggs are eliminated. What we don't understand is how we are meant to account for things that can't be washed or easily inspected, such as books, papers, electronics and general clutter. We have been told by the PCO to put them in sealed plastic bags prior to a spray treatment, primarily (we thought) to allow them to spray without fear of damaging them. However when we questioned the PCO we were told we should keep them in these bags until we are given the 'all clear' on our next inspection. The thing that puzzles us is that if these bags contain adults or eggs, keeping them sealed in bags while the poison is active seems a bit counter intuitive, as as soon as we remove them from the bags any bugs inside will be free to move back into a now insecticide-free room.
Does what we've been asked to do sound reasonable? Any advice/thoughts much appreciated.
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bbcomox on "My prior experience with bedbugs helped me in a recent hostel stay"
Hi,
I just want to share an anecdote on how my previous experience with bedbugs has helped me in a recent vacation. In 2013, my apartment had bedbugs. While treatment was done, the bedbugs kept coming back. I moved to a new location, and later on, I found out that the bedbugs were coming from another unit who did not report them.
Since then, I know what bedbugs and their cast skins look like, and try not to worry too much about them. During the recent spring break, I travelled to a US city and stayed in a hostel. The hostel was a historic building, used to be a mansion. While it was old, it was kept clean. I was shown to a large dorm room area with six bunk beds, so 12 beds in total. I chose the best bed out of the available ones.
From my habit, I inspected the mattress and noticed a speck of cast skin on the sheet. At first I doubt that it was a bedbug cast skin, but I could tell from its shape and colour. Even if I was wrong, I knew that I would be uncomfortable in sleeping on this bed. I quickly grabbed my luggage and asked for another room. I told the front desk what I found, and I requested a room as far away enough as possible. They assigned me to another bed, and I did the same check; it appeared to be fine.
Upon my return from my trip, I quickly washed and dried my clothing. I placed my luggage and content into PackTite closet. Luckily, I did not bring any bedbugs, if any, home.
In summary, I was lucky that I found one of the three signs of bedbugs to avoid another possible bedbugs bites and infestation. Bedbugs have not significantly changed my travelling habits, as I will continue to stay in hostels to save money on travelling and to meet other hostellers. I just have to be more vigilant.
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thefamilye on "Nuvan Pro-Strips"
please help me with this. just wondering if these Nuvan Pro-Strips really work or would it be a waste of my money. tired of spending money on these little bugger and it nor working
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zguy on "Stain ID?"
I found this stain at the end of bed last night about a month after a heat treatment. I feel like it's a fecal stain.
It's the only one I can find. Can anyone ID this?
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SickofitAndoverit on "About to start over."
Was doing my daily house inspection, seen a tiny black dot on the wall. Go to wipe it off and turns out its blood. I'm assuming it was fecal, but it popped so much blood out it might of been a tiny bug. I feel like throwing everything out of the house and starting over. I know I can't but I feel like it. Dealing with this since late February and I'm going insane. Been three or four days since anything has been seen. How am I missing them and how are they missing the DE in this room!! Only one room. Called a new pro, trying to get an appointment asap. Last one let me down bad....
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Capehope on "Can't tell carpet beetle or bed bugs?"
Hi,
I am really hoping someone can help me, as I'm going crazy over here.
Starting about two months ago I got 3 little "bites" on my shoulder after sleeping on my couch for a few nights. Red, raised and very itchy. They went away shortly after. Then, about a month ago I noticed similar looking "bites" on my abdomen, arms and legs, again after spending a few hours on my couch between like 2am and 5am.
I called in an exterminator who found tons of carpet beetle larvae crawling along the bottom of my couch cushions. He also found what he said was a bed bug molting/exoskeleton. I saw it but didn't think to take a picture of it because I trusted him that's what it was. Now that I've looked for myself online it may have been a carpet beetle skin cast, although it does look larger than most pictures I've seen of carpet beetles, and it was reddish brown.
Our mattresses and box springs have covers on them and there is no sign of anything on the covers. No fecal stains, no blood, no black spots at all. When the exterminator inspected our bedroom he said he found nothing at all.
My husband has not experienced any "bites," although he not home as much as I am so that may be a factor.
We had the exterminator spray our entire apartment and afterward we vacuumed our couch like maniacs. We found a bunch of dead carpet beetle larvae and also yellow, dry, long shaped skins that look like they belong to carpet beetles.
However, a few days ago I noticed two large, red, painful and itchy welt-looking things on my leg as well as multiple red, itchy spots on the bottom of one of my feet.
What is going on here?
Do I have bed bugs/carpet beetles/both (shudder)
Is it possible that he found a bed bug cast and I only had one bed bug? Is it possible to have bed bugs and have both mattresses without a single trace?
Is it possible that carpet beetles or whatever it is, is contained to just my couch?
Also, if it is carpet beetles and they're all dead. Can their hairs still be around (even after vacuuming) and causing a reaction in me?
Please help! I have a little infant at home and we're moving this month. I need to protect my baby and I don't want to take any bugs to our new apartment.
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